Tag Archives: Virginia

At 3,474 feet, Hogback Mountain is the highest peak in the North District of Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. Although the summit is not accessible by trail, the modest Hogback Mountain Loop offers fine vistas looking north across Shenandoah Valley to … Continue reading →

The Riverbend Road Trail is easily the least interesting of the hikes in northern Virginia’s Great Falls Park and is largely out of the way of the other trails in the park. Those seeking to conquer every trail in the … Continue reading →

The Mine Run Trail is an oft-forgotten path nestled in the northwest section of Great Falls Park, away from the namesake waterfall, Mather Gorge, and Potomac River. Mine Run, nonetheless, is a lovely tributary of the Potomac and is the … Continue reading →

The start of the new year offers a time to reflect on the year that was: although other commitments slowed my rate of production in 2018, I still managed to add 37 new posts during the year to Live and … Continue reading →

The 252-mile Tuscarora Trail—the shorter cousin to the much-vaunted, nearby Appalachian Trail—weaves through tree-studded mountain ranges and rolling farmlands spanning four different Mid-Atlantic states: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. While completing the full length of the trail takes several … Continue reading →

Mount Marshall—named for John Marshall, the famous 19th century Chief Justice of the Supreme Court—actually comprises two distinct peaks in the North District of Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. North and South Marshall, as they are known, sport some of the … Continue reading →

The nearly 8-mile trail up Whiteoak Canyon and down Cedar Run is easily one of the most scintillating loop hikes in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park and features a string of excellent waterfalls that is perhaps unparalleled in the state. Except … Continue reading →

This excellent hike combines two of the finest summits in northern Virginia in a strenuous circuit with considerable elevation gain and loss. The trek up Duncan and Strickler Knobs is not for the casual hiker; it involves significant climbs and … Continue reading →

– Civil War Series – The 1862 Peninsula Campaign, intended by the Union to put a decisive end to the Civil War by capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond, began with a slow start. Gen. George McClellan, despite setting out … Continue reading →

– Civil War Series – Malvern Hill is one of the country’s best-preserved Civil War battlefields and marked the culmination of the Seven Days’ Battles, a series of engagements outside Richmond, Virginia in June-July 1862 that ended Union Gen. George … Continue reading →